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Guardiola: “The tie is wide open”

Guardiola admitted that he would have liked to have a larger goal margin going into the return leg against Hospitalet seeing that Barça will play in the FIFA Club World Cup just days before the King’s Cup tie
The Barça manager highlighted his player’s intensity and effort on the pitch

Guardiola at the Nou Municipal / PHOTO: ÀLEX CAPARRÓS - FCB

While the Barcelona manager said “the final result is what it is,” he would have preferred a larger goal difference heading into the return leg of the round of 32 against Hospitalet. Just days before the Copa del Rey return leg in the Camp Nou, on the 21st of December, FC Barcelona will be returning from Japan after playing in the FIFA Club World Cup. “The tie is wide open. We would have liked to have larger goal margin going into the return leg to be a bit more secure, we don’t know what shape we’ll be in when we return from Japan. It would have been good to have another goal, but we’ll see how we’re doing when we return,” said the Barça trainer.

Praises Hospitalet

Guardiola praised his opponent tonight, “it was a really intense game between two teams with lots of personality, and we had to put in a lot of effort. I want to congratulate Hospitalet on the good team they are and for the level of play they showed us tonight. They played a good game, they opened up and were willing to play. They have a lot of game and their keeper was simply fantastic. We lacked a little bit in breaking their defensive system down.”

When asked if Barça is the standard other teams measure themselves against, he said “my players only try to do the best they possibly can. Football is open to anyone and it’s for everyone. We simply want to represent Barça the best way possible, play football the best way possible, and behave the best way possible.”

Faithful to his philosophy of play

Guardiola also talked about the good game both Fontas and Jonathan Dos Santos put in, “they are all-around fantastic players, we’re lucky to have them at Barça.” He also made it very clear that in the Nou Municipal, with or without Messi, that “the idea is always the same, try to play in the opponents half of the field and generate chances to score.”

Lastly, the Barça coach enthusiastically approved of David Villa’s game, “he gives us a lot. For me, David is indisputable. I liked how he played tonight even more than how he has in the past.”